|
I am pretty new at reading ebooks. So I guess I am one of those people that the kindle targets. To be sucessful to the masses you have to make it easy. Amazon has done this. The device is easy to use and requires no need to attach to the computer unless you want to or live in an area where the wireless doesn't work. No remembering PIDS or which store you bought a book at if you get a new device and want to redownload. It needs to be easy to be sucessful. Most people on this forum clearly like to play around with formats and such. The average person does not. The kindle is easy as going to a book store and starting to read a book. I don't see how any device will be sucessful without being this easy. The average person will read paperbacks rather than ebooks if they had to find an ebook store, give them PIDS, and drag a USB cord out to read a book. I looked at SONY in stores. First of all it is always banged up from overuse at Borders. So not so attractive looking at a banged up device. And then it looked like it had way too many buttons. Needing to download software to use it held no appeal to me. And I actually like the big buttons on the kindle. Its feels very natural like turning a book. Much easier than the Cybook that I also own. It also turns pages faster than the Cybook.
Romance novels- Harlequin does sell books in mobipocket and on the kindle. I am more of a mystery and sci fi reader but I do occasionally read romance novels. Harlequin novels are not the greatest but a lot of romance novels are very well written. As well written and plotted as any mystery novel I read. So this comments about romance novels being porn is insulting to romance readers and writers. Sex scenes in them are as varied as violence in other novels. From detailed to off stage. Romance makes up 70% of the publishing industry and allows publishers to publish other stuff. Without it many publishers would go under. So maybe read a few books before dismissing the entire genre as porn.
I do see books on the kindle that I can't find anywhere else. I think more and more this will happen. These names won't mean anything if you don't read mysteries but Conrad Allen, Carola DUnn (Gun Powder Plot), Peter Lovesey- and ingeneral Soho Press as far as I can see is only on the kindle. I have seen other examples. One publisher is putting out 5000 kindle books by the end of the year. I don't know if that means mobipocket also.
Kindle prices are also cheaper. NOt really when it comes out in paperback but in hardback, yes. At 9.99 a book when the other mobipocket stores have these books for $14-20 on average? I would say thats a bargain. I also have to wonder with kindle being a sucess, how long will they bother to keep mobipocket around.
|